1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an artificial mamma to be used by applying it onto female breasts without embedding therein, and a structure of a negative model (mold) for use in producing the artificial mamma.
2. Prior Art
The artificial mammae which are employed to remedy disproportionate right and left mammae due to ateliosis or to provide prostheses for mammae affected by operations are classified generally into those that are placed in undergarments or the like, and those that are surgically embedded in the breasts.
The former type of artificial mammae which are not surgically embedded are especially useful for those women who have had breast related operations, such as breast cancer surgery, or other conditions where the breast surface is affected, since the artificial mammae can provide the outward appearance of a normal breast. This type of artificial mammae is free of danger and safe in use, so that they my be applied in most cases, including such cases where the artificial mammae are used as basic elements for remedying disproportionate right and left mammae due to ateliosis. This type of artificial mammae basically comprises silicon jelly or urethane foam coated with silicon rubber.
The artificial mammae are commercially available in the form of ready-made products. But, properly speaking, they should be individually produced due to inherent differences in the shape of female mammae. It is believed that the more an artificial mamma is similar to an excised mamma, the more a woman's disappointment from the mammary ablation can be reduced. This is particularly so for a woman who has one of her mammae removed or partially removed due to mammary cancer or the like, wherein ablation is carried out generally for only one of the mammae because of a low possibility of occurrence of cancer in both mammary glands.
Described herein is a means for making an artificial mamma for women who have undergone mammary ablation due to mammary cancer or other conditions and do not wish to use a ready-made artificial mamma. A mammary model (mold) is first formed based on the remaining mamma, since that mamma to which the mammary model ought to properly correspond has been already excised. Gypsum (plaster bandage is used usually) is coated around the remaining mamma and hardened to form a "negative model", followed by forming a positive model using the negative model as a master form. A mating mold is then formed-based on the positive model, in which melted silicon rubber and other materials are injected, followed by various processes to obtain the desired artificial mamma.
The model-making process using the affected woman's mamma itself as a basic model uses gypsum and thereby requires that the woman be restrained from moving away from the site until the gypsum is hardened. Hence, in addition to the fundamental problem that it is difficult to model a normal shape of the mamma due to its deformation under pressure, it is quite embarrassing for the woman to cause her mamma, deformed by earlier operations or disease, to be exposed to others even in the confined space for the process.
Also, the resulting artificial mammae produced by the above procedure impose psychological, physical and economic burdens on the users. Namely, these artificial mammae are apt to be heavier and also uncomfortable in use due to large differences in deformation under pressure between the artificial mamma and the corresponding original mamma. Additionally, in relation to the former defect, i.e., that it is apt to be heavier, most of the artificial mammae require additional use of special undergarments (such as brassieres or the like). Furthermore, no conventional artificial mammae can make adjustments for elasticity and fine adjustments corresponding to a change in the user's figure and other factors, thereby necessitating producing of new artificial mammae for each occasion.